Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 33.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 60,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,885 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $15,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Nwam LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 27.2% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at about $372,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Progressive by 216.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.7% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 52,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,557 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total transaction of $1,439,833.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,400.04. This trade represents a 15.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $16,415,812. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $255.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $149.14 and a 12 month high of $263.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.98.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PGR. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.56.

Progressive Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.